National Hockey League
Nashville 7, San Jose 1
When: 8:00 PM ET, Thursday, February 22, 2018
Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Referees: Francis Charron, Jon McIsaac
Linesmen: Vaughan Rody, Libor Suchanek
Attendance: 17354
Goaltender Pekka Rinne posted his 300th NHL career win as the Nashville Predators thumped the visiting San Jose Sharks 7-1 on Thursday night.

Rinne, 35, had a relatively easy time reaching the milestone, stopping 33 of 34 shots as the host Predators were on top throughout. Nashville held leads of 2-0 after the first period and 3-1 after the second before adding four more goals in the third.

Nick Bonino scored a goal and assisted on the winner. Viktor Arvidsson, Ryan Johansen and Calle Jarnkrok also tallied a goal and an assist for the Predators, who posted their third straight win. Scott Hartnell, Kevin Fiala and Mattias Ekholm had one goal apiece.

P.K. Subban and Roman Josi both furnished two assists as Nashville remained two points back of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the race for the league's best overall record.

Logan Couture scored San Jose's lone goal as the Sharks saw their win streak end at three games.

Sharks goaltender Aaron Dell recorded 39 saves on 46 shots in his first start since Feb. 10 against Edmonton. With San Jose playing the first of back-to-back road games, Dell went the distance instead of being pulled.

Bonino opened the scoring on a wraparound 1:55 into the game. The Predators went ahead 2-0 with 43 seconds left in the first period as Hartnell put in Bonino's bouncing pass on a two-on-one.

Couture got the Sharks on the scoreboard at 8:37 of the second period, squeezing a backhand from the corner between Rinne and the post. However, Fiala gave the Preds a 3-1 advantage at 15:57 as he kept the puck on a two-on-one. Fiala appeared to lose control of the puck as he attempted a deke, but the disk slid under Dell.

Arvidsson, with his fourth goal in three games, and Johansen put the game out of reach as they scored less than three minutes apart early in the third period. Then Ekholm and Jarnkrok padded Nashville's lead further.

Sharks forward Tomas Hertl returned to the lineup after missing three games with an undisclosed upper-body injury. Center Eric Fehr played his first game for San Jose since being acquired in a trade Tuesday from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
San Jose   Nashville
Logan Couture 1 Points Viktor Arvidsson 2
Logan Couture 1 Goals Viktor Arvidsson 1
Justin Braun 1 Assists Roman Josi 2
N/A Power Play Goals Viktor Arvidsson 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Aaron Dell .848 Save Percentage Pekka Rinne .971
Aaron Dell 39 Saves Pekka Rinne 33
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
San Jose 34 1 0-5 1-2 4 37
Nashville 46 7 1-2 5-5 10 32
Upcoming Games
  • Nashville will play their next game at home against St. Louis. The Predators have a W/L % of .611 after a win and .625 after a loss.
  • San Jose will play their next game on the road against Chicago. The Sharks have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .593 after a loss.